This invention relates to sprinkler heads and nozzles. Particularly, the invention relates to such sprinkler heads and nozzles used in outdoor irrigation systems, such as the watering of lawns and plants in residential, commercial and industrial settings.
As a general rule, a sprinkler device has a sprinkler head. The sprinkler head has an attached or an integrated nozzle. The water flows through the head, to the nozzle, and from the nozzle to the area to be irrigated.
Conventional sprinklers or irrigation systems typically comprise a series of pipes, connected to each other end-to-end, the pipes being connected to a water source, such as an outdoor faucet. The pipes are constructed so as to, for example, extend about the perimeter of an area requiring watering or irrigation, or may be laid in some other fashion so that effective watering can occur. At periodic points along the length of the pipes, water outlets are constructed, whereby water is diverted from the pipe, passes along the outlet, and typically exits through a sprinkler head or nozzle which distributes the water in a particular coverage pattern so as to provide water to plants and lawn in that area. The spacing of the sprinkler heads or nozzles along the pipe is determined based not only upon the type of plant requiring watering, but also upon the spread and/or range of a particular nozzle, namely, the specific area to which the water is delivered.
In certain situations, the sprinkler head or nozzle may be such that the water is delivered as a drip or in a steady low volume stream, but, in many situations, the sprinkler head or nozzle is not intended to deliver water to a particular point or very small area, but to provide watering over a much larger area.
While a variety of styles and shapes of lawn and garden sprinkler heads exist, nearly all of these are designed and tooled so as to disperse water which is generally in a direction upward and away from the head. A common problem with such sprinkler heads or nozzles is that water is not distributed evenly and consistently over the entire area which that nozzle is intended to cover. As a result, the area on the ground nearer the head may receive little, or even no, water, while areas further from the head will tend to receive almost all of the water. This situation often means that plants and lawn in the vicinity or adjacent the sprinkler heads must be separately irrigated, either by hand, or by an adjacent sprinkler head. The result is that it often becomes necessary to place the sprinkler heads and nozzles at closer intervals with respect to each other to ensure dispersal patterns to cover unwatered areas very near a particular or adjacent head. This, in turn, may result in significant overlap of areas to be watered, in order to achieve the objective of providing water to those areas which are missed by adjacent sprinklers heads or nozzles.
Unfortunately, the placement of the sprinkler heads and nozzles, even in overlapping fashion, does not always address the problem of uneven coverage. Moreover, this type of placement is often not feasible, and generally uneconomical, since, in order to water all areas, certain areas must receive more water. Therefore, while placement of sprinkler heads to cause overlapping watering may address the problem of providing water to all areas, this still does not address the issue of consistent and even watering of all areas within a sprinkler nozzle's intended coverage.